Amalgamator and concentrator



.May 3, 1938. M. w. KRoLL AMALGAMATOR AND CONCENTRATOR Filed Dec. 16, 1935 NN \\N \w\ NN im m A l wg. JNLNN NNI NN. W. MN NN .NN MN um r Nm Nn Nm. Sm. NN 4 mw uw. Ma

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May 3, 1938 M. w. KRoLL AMALG'AMATOR AD CONCENTRATOR Filed Dec. 16, 1935 2 Sheets- Sheet 2 INVEN-ro Patented May 3, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE one-half to M. Mont.

Lloyd Parcells, Columbus,

Application December 16, 1935, Serial No. 54,756

2 Claims.

The invention relates to an amalgamator and concentrator and more especially to a combined amalgamator, grinder and concentrator for extraction of precious metals.

The primary object of the invention is the provision of a machine of this character, wherein through the use of a half circular trough suspended for agitation andhaving riies therein and freely movable grinding rollers a maximum recovery of precious metal can be had from the material being treated therein. through amalgamation and concentration, the trough being of a kind to avoid the material being treated from becoming lodged or packed therein, more espel5 cially if the material be in a iinely divided state.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a machine of this character, wherein the sluice trough is supported in a novel manner and the same subjected to agitation in a unique fashion, the machine in its entirety being of novel make-up.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a machine of this character, wherein the trough carries in the bottom thereof a solutic-n of mercury and copper plates, these serving to effect the amalgamation of the material treated for the recovery of precious values of ore from, such material and avoids the carrying away of these values with the tailings and in the operation of the machine 'a minimum agitation or a low rate thereof is required for maximum recovery of the precious metals.

A further vobject of the invention is the provision of a machine of this character, wherein the copper plates as exposed within the trough are protected from wear resultant from the motion of the grinding rollers during agitation of the trough in which the material is undergoing treatment for the extraction of precious values of metals therefrom.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of a machine of this character, which is comparatively simple in its construction, thorougly reliable and effective in its operation, automatic in action, enabling the recovery of precious values of metal with economy and inexpensive to manufacture and install.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in the features of construction,

combination and arrangement of parts as will be hereinafter more fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, which disclose the preferred embodiment of the invention and pointed out in the claims hereunto appended.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view through a machine constructed in accordance with the invention.

Figure 2 is an enlarged sectional view on the line 2-2 of Figure 1 looking in the direction of 5 the arrows.

Figure 3 is a sectional view on the line 3-3 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary top plan view.

Figure 5 is a perspective view of one of the 10 grinding rollers as employed within the machine.

Figure 6 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view showing a modied form of tailings discharged. 15

Similar reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views in the drawings.

Referring to the drawings in detail, the machine constituting the present invention com- 20 prises a base A including longitudinal side sills III and transverse end sills II, respectively, these being united in any suitable manner and support spaced parallel channeled beams I2 which follow the length of the side sills I0 of the base A. 25

B'olted or otherwise secured to these beams I8 at substantially uniform distances from each other are spring legs I3, the fastening of the lower ends of these in this instance being by bolts I4 to the said beams. The upper ends of 30 the legs I3 are formed with eyes I5 accommodating pivots I6 journaled in spaced cross rails I1 carried at the open top of a half circular trough I8. The rails I'I disposed crosswise of this trough I8 are made fast thereto by bolts I9 so that in 35 this manner through the use of the rails and the legs the said trough I8 can be agitated.

The rails II at one side of the trough I8 have fixed to their under sides suitable bearings 28 for accommodating a rotatable shaft 2| it vhav- 40 ing xed thereto overbalanced fly wheels 22, each carrying the overbalancing weights 23. The shaft 2I also carries a drive pulley 24 for a drive belt 25 operated from any suitable source of power. Thus the overbalancing fly wheels 22 45 will exert agitation when rotating and in this manner the said trough I8 is agitated.

Located within this trough are transversely disposed partitions or riiiles 26, these being spaced the required distances from each other to pro- 50 vide a series of pockets throughout the length of the trough. The trough I8 is supported by the legs I3 to be inclined longitudinally thereof in one direction. Certain of the pockets, that is to say those for a distance of the higher end por- 55 tion of the said trough, have fitted in the bottom copper plates 21 having superimposed thereon wearing steel tracks 28 on which travel free grinding rollers 29 so that the latter will not contact with the copper plates 21 and thus wear therefrom upon these plates is eliminated. The remaining pockets of the series at the lower end portion of the track I8, which are construed as the concentrator pockets 30 while the other pockets are the amalgamator pockets, have tailings discharge openings 3| communicating therewith, these being formed in the bottom of the trough i8 and extend through the plates 27 and a trough 28 adjacent. The pockets 30 also carry the rollers 29.

Suitably supported above the high end of the through I8 is a screening hopper 32 with which communicates a put-in chute, a portion thereof being indicated at 33, the hopper 32 being also provided with an overiiow discharge chute 39. This hopper 32 screens the material to be treated in the trough 8 and delivers such material screened thereinto at the high end of said trough.

It is preferable to put a solution of mercury (not shown) within the group of amalgamating pockets to function as a cleaner so that the precious values of metal will be more readily attracted by the copper plates 2T tted within this group of pockets and thereby assuring maxi- ,jmum amalgamation in the treatment of the material as fed to the trough.

In the use of the machine in treating gold o-re in which this value occurs in both a free or uncombined state and in a combined state the group of pockets at the high end portion of the trough i8 will function as amalgamators with the pools of mercury in each while those at the lower end portion of the trough are operated without mercury and the openings 3| discharge the tailings so that the heavier minerals in the ore Hbeing treated will escape while the lighter portions would, of course, be forced over the top of the rifies 26 by the action of the water and the rollers'29 functioning for separating the lighter `portions of material from the heavier by virtue of stratication of the mass in the order of the specic gravities of the different materials comprising the ore under treatment. These pockets having the openings function as concentrator Vcompartments and the ratio of concentrate saved from the material treated is, of course, governed by the size of the opening 3|. Under operation of the machine and supposing that a typical gold ore contains iron pyrite and 60% of the gold is free and susceptible to amalgamation, the free gold would, of course, be recovered in the amalgamating pockets of the trough |8. The balance of the Vgold or 40% would in all probability be combined with the iron pyrite sarily have to be separated by concentration and and would necesinasmuch as the iron pyrite comprises 10% of the bulk or weight of the ore it follows that the concentration ratio would have to be ten to one and the size of the openings 3| would have to be of proper size to allow 10% of the material to pass through them at a given rate of in-put feed to the trough. In event that the lighter portion 0f the material under treatment carries the values to be saved the material coming out of the openings 3| would, of course, be the rejected material or tailings, while that material finding its way over the top of the riies 26 would be the concentrate to be saved.

In Figure 6 of the drawings the trough 35 has fitted therein an apertured plug 36 which is removably secured so that plugs having varying sized apertures can be applied to the trough for proper concentrating action of the machine.

The particular shape of the trough eliminates any possibility of the packing or lodging of the material under treatment therein as would be the case should the said trough present corners or projections therein and this is particularly true where the precious metal is of a nely divided state. Therefore, the particular trough I8 enables a maximum recovery' of precious metal with a minimum agitation of such trough and in this way there is prevented the carrying of the gold over the riles 26 and out into the tailings through the openings 3|.

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus of the character described comprising a substantially half circular trough, spaced riles within and transversely of said trough forming a plurality of relatively wide pockets therein, spaced tracks fitted transversely within the pockets following the half circular formation of the trough and elevated above the bottoms of said pockets, rollers free in said pockets, guided by the riles and movable upon the tracks to be spaced from the bottoms of said pockets, and amalgamating plates between the bottom ofthe trough and said tracks tcrbe free from contact with the rollers.

2. An apparatus of the character described comprising a movable supported substantially half circular trough, spaced rililes within and transversely of said trough forming a plurality of relatively wide pockets therein, spaced tracks fitted transversely within the pockets following the half circular formation of the trough and elevated above the bottoms of said pockets, rollers free in said pockets, guided by the rililes and movable upon the tracks to be spaced from the bottoms of said pockets, and a copper lining Within each pocket and disposed beneath said tracks to lie between the same and the bottoms of said pockets.

MARTIN W. KROLL. 

